Affinity: Chaos

Chapter 2191: Sneaking Into A Sealed City II

Molten Crest Faction.

The teleportation array carved into the stone floor suddenly flared to life. Lines of pale spatial light raced outward from the center node, humming with restrained power. The expert assigned to watch the formation shot to his feet at once. Without waiting to see what would emerge, he sent an urgent signal to the Faction Leader.

A second later the light intensified, then collapsed inward and Grey’s figure solidified in the middle of the array.

The guard stared, eyes wide. Shock gave way almost immediately to open relief. Grey’s successful return could mean only one thing: he had reached the sealed city, sneaked in, and completed the second array.

Powerful auras erupted across the Faction grounds. The sound of air being split followed as several figures streaked toward the formation site. The Faction Leader arrived first, his white hair stirring in the residual energy. Five Elders landed close behind him. Reynolds and Conor appeared a moment later, both scanning Grey quickly for any sign of injury.

The Faction Leader strode forward and clapped a hand on Grey’s shoulder with unexpected familiarity, as if they had been allies for years.

"You’re more than meets the eye, Grey Dawson," he said, voice carrying clear approval. Then his tone sharpened. "What’s the situation with Zane?"

"Not good," Grey answered. His voice remained even, as he briefly told them the situation of the survivors and the current state of the city.

The Faction Leader’s eyes narrowed to thin slits. The easy expression he had worn a moment earlier disappeared.

"How many Peak Sovereigns did the Gnomes station there?"

"Six, four Gnomes, two Necromancers." Grey’s reply was precise. While he was there, the bunny leader’s scouts gathered information across the city and outside it, so he had a fairly good idea of the enemy forces.

Silence fell over the group. The weight of those numbers settled heavily. Six Peak Sovereigns against a city that currently had only one. Reynolds’s jaw tightened. Conor’s expression darkened. Even the Elders exchanged brief, grim glances. It was obvious that the Gnomes didn’t want to force the humans into a desperate fight, else they would’ve wiped out the city by now.

Conor broke the quiet. "What’s so important about that place that they committed six Peak Sovereigns to it?"

The Faction Leader looked at him and gave a short shake of his head. "I wish I knew. We’ve asked ourselves the same question for weeks."

Grey’s face remained unreadable. He had delivered the necessary information, hence he felt it was time for them to take action since he was in a hurry to leave this place and continue with his initial travel plans.

"It would be best if you organize the army now," he said. "I can begin the transfers as soon as they are ready."

The Faction Leader released Grey’s shoulder and let out a short breath that was almost a chuckle. "You’re right. Adkins."

The middle-aged Peak Sovereign stepped forward at once. "Sir."

"Is everyone prepared?"

Adkins nodded. "Yes. According to the specifications given earlier, only those at the Fifth stage of the Sovereign Plane and above will cross. Around three hundred or so in total. They are already assembled and waiting for the order."

"Good. Bring them here." The Faction Leader turned back to Grey. "In the meantime, I would prefer not to wait. Send the advance group through first. I want to speak with Zane directly and see the situation myself before the main force arrives."

Grey nodded. There was sense in the Faction Leader being sent there first. An early discussion with the city’s leadership could save valuable time once the full army began crossing. He glanced at Reynolds and Conor.

"You two go as well."

Both of them stepped forward without hesitation. Void and the bunny leader were already inside the city. If anything went wrong before the main force arrived, the two of them could still be extracted quickly.

The Faction Leader, seven Elders, Reynolds, and Conor moved into the array. Grey formed a rapid series of hand seals. Spatial energy gathered along the carved lines, rising from a low hum to a steady thrum. He tossed a small token toward Reynolds, who caught it cleanly and stored it away. The array flared with bright light. In the space of a single breath the entire group vanished.

The guard who had remained behind stared at the empty formation, still struggling to process what he had just witnessed. He had seen ancient teleportation arrays activate before, but watching one built only hours earlier perform the same feat left a different impression entirely.

Grey stood alone beside the array and waited. The mountain wind moved across the Faction grounds, carrying the faint scent of ash from the dormant volcano. Five minutes passed. Then Adkins returned at the head of a long column of Sovereigns, just over three hundred experts, all at the Fifth stage or higher. Their auras pressed against the open space in a dense, disciplined wave.

Grey did not waste time on further discussion. He began the transfers at once.

Each activation of the array could carry twenty people. He worked methodically, locking the coordinates, stabilizing the spatial corridor, and sending group after group through. Light flared, vanished, and flared again. The process repeated sixteen times to account for the full number and the inevitable extras.

With every successful transfer the remaining experts grew quieter. What had begun as tense anticipation settled into focused readiness. They had heard the reports from the Pyre Region. Now they were about to step into a city held by six Peak Sovereign enemies, guided by the same young man who had already overturned multiple battlefields.

When the final group stepped into the array, Grey moved with them. He took his place at the center, formed the last set of seals, and activated the formation once more.

Bright spatial light swallowed the open ground.

On the other side of the link, the sealed mountaintop city waited. It was unknown what awaited them in this battle, but one thing was for certain, there was no turning back now.